Co-ordination Theory is based on the premise that there are patterns of co-ordination which hold across multiple domains, and so lessons learnt in one domain (e.g. computer science) can be applied in another (e.g. materials handling).
Malone and Crowston [1] propose a simple definition of co-ordination:
"Coordination is managing dependencies between activities"
Based on this key definition, Malone and Crowston analyse co-ordination cases based on the type of dependency. They go on to example how different domains - computer science, economics and operations research, and organisational theory - look at these co-ordination processes.
A side effect of the Malone and Crowston definition is that co-ordination now subsumes co-operation, planning, scheduling, and even competition.
